Despite quality issues, Apple may be adding LG as an OLED display provider

LG is slowly eating away at Samsung's monopoly

Why it matters: As pre-orders for the new iPhones open we start to see some new details about internal components emerge. LG has apparently just passed Apple’s quality tests and will join Samsung in producing the flexible OLED displays used in the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.

The news come via unnamed sources from Korean Herald subsidiary ETNews, so take it with a grain of salt. But the move would be very logical for Apple: Samsung’s 95% OLED display market share means they can charge whatever they want for their beautiful screens, which were the most expensive component of the iPhone X.

Competition from LG could lower the prices allowing the iPhones to be more profitable. LG Display has also allegedly begun preparing for mass production at its new OLED manufacturing plant.

But are the screens good enough?

The Pixel 2 XL used an LG OLED panel and that phone became infamous for its awful viewing angles, lack of uniformity and worst of all, image burn in. LG’s own V30 handset also suffered from poor viewing angles and uniformity, but not nearly to the extent of the Pixel 2 XL. Let’s just hope that any LG screens used in the new iPhones, and the LG V40, are significantly better.